Standard

A standard dead-hang pull up is grasped with an overhand grip. Then the body is pulled up until the chin clears the bar, and finished by lowering the body until arms and shoulders are fully extended. Some stricter fitness experts, such as Mark Twight of Gym Jones would add that to be considered a full repetition the "elbows must pass behind centerline of the body." ^[3]

Weighted pull-up

Weight is added using a dipping belt, or grasping a Dumbbell with the feet.

Behind-the-neck pull-up

This is where you drop your chin and pull your self up behind the neck. Some avoid this exercise believing it to cause injuries. People with a previous history of shoulder injury may want to avoid this exercise.

One arm pull-up

A one arm pull-up is performed by grasping the bar with only one hand while pulling up. Due to its difficulty, it's known to be an exhibition exercise. This exercise is best for advanced athletes only. This exercise can also be done on a pull-down machine and also allows each side to work independently of the other.

Muscle-up

The muscle-up is performed by pulling up, but rather than stopping with the chin or chest touching the bar, the arms are straightened, raising the body above the bar. This involves pressing with the triceps muscles, pectorals and shoulders, and adds an opposing balance to pull-ups. Muscle-ups are good for giving the opposite muscles rest and equal development. Generally, the initial pull-up has more of an overhand grip, to make the switch easier. As the momentum of the pull-up has to be harnessed in switching the grip over the bar, it must be more explosive than a normal pull-up. Muscle-ups are done with pull-ups more often than chin-ups due to the wider placing of the arms which help stabilize the person from falling to the side at the top, as well as to stop them from flipping over.

Kipping pull-ups

Kipping pull-ups are used to increase the total number of repetitions as well as rhythm and coordination. They may be used to maximize power output (work per unit time) in their metabolic conditioning workouts, accomplished mainly by swaying forward and backwards and harnessing this momentum on the back swing to do a pull-up in the back. Those more experienced with kipping pull-ups will often be able to do these without bending their legs; these are true kipping pull-ups. Others that are less experienced or more experienced users who are tired may utilize the hip flexors in bringing the knees up, then dropping them as one pulls up. This has an effect of lightening the load on the arms while straight so that by the time the weight transfers to them, they are bent and more able to bear the load. While this is not part of the actual kipping pull-up technique, it is often used to get up an extra few repetitions at the end of a set once the user's muscles and CNS are almost totally exhausted. The variation with using the knees is a great abdominal exercise. (Example of a Kipping pull-up) ^[4]

Jumping Pull-ups

These incorporate the pushing power of the legs, and lessens the exertion of the upper body. The ideal method is to jump, as even if the load on the arms is minimal, this can be considered a warm-up, and the load should eventually increase as the legs tire and one relies more on the arms to raise height. A way to increase both the exertion of the legs and the upper body is to jump from a greater distance from the bar. This way, less acceleration is present to aid the pulling of the upper body at the top of the jump, without skimping out on leg assistance.

Australian Pull-ups

Sometimes called a "Reverse Push-up", this is performed with the bar 2 to 3 feet off the floor. The user lies on the ground under the bar, face-up, and grasps the bar with extended arms. The exercise is performed by pulling the chest up to the bar. The body is held in a rigid plank position while the heels remain on the floor.